Never stop running
by Pixiedust72
Summary: Max is on her own and on a mission to destroy Itex once and for all after an accident leaves her thinking the rest of the flock is dead.But are they? Will be FAX later on
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: i do not own Maximum ride, never have, never will.

I found a place to land in a small clearing in the middle of some giant forest somewhere in Washington. I had to tuck my wings in tight against my back or risk a branch going through them as I dropped, and trust me, that hurt like hell. I hit the ground at a run, opening my wings at the last minute to cut my speed, but the I still felt the impact all the way through my body like a shockwave.

I built a small fire and pulled out the half eaten packet of hot dogs (minus the rolls of course) and roasted them before devouring them. It wasn't enough to satisfy my hunger though, but then, it never was. Food was in short supply considering I avoided any kind of public place unless I absolutely had to.

And where was the rest of the flock you ask? Dead. Gone forever. There was an accident. We were destroying yet another school when a gas pipe burst and the bomb Iggy said would blow a hole in the wall to let us out, blew up the entire building with us still inside. I'd jumped up and pushed my way through the roof as it crumbled around me, using the blast to my advantage. I though the others had done the same. But they weren't following. I stayed nearby watching for nearly three days. I didn't sleep once, but no one emerged from the wreckage. Eventually I succumbed to exhaustion, but I dreamed of them, lying there in the rubble. Blood matting Angels golden hair, a gash across Nudges cheek, Gazzy with his arms at odd angles where he had fallen, Iggy's sightless eyes staring back at me, glazed over. And Fang, a piece of the wall lying across his chest, blood trickling slowly out of the corner of his mouth.

It didn't matter that I'd never really seen it, my imagination conjured up the unbearable image anyway.

When I woke I had looked hopefully at the ruined School again. It was still burning.

_Max_ the voice had said gently _They're dead. There's nothing more you can do._

And was when I realised I would never see them again. My Flock, my family, the only people in the world I could really count on, could really trust. The only people who would ever understand me. I would never again see that mischievous glint in Angel's eye when she was up to something. I would never hear Nudge ramble on about something, nor Iggy and Gazzy planning bombs, never tell them off again. And I would never see Fang smile his rare smiles again. I would never get to tell him that I loved him. I felt like an empty shell. They had made me who I was. Without them, I was just a shadow. And every time I closed my eyes I was them lying there again. I still do.

After that I spent some time at my mom's house. I was a wreck. I moped about the house in my pyjamas refusing to go to school or even leave the house. Most of the time I stayed in my room and cried. I cried so much those first few weeks and every minute I kept expecting them to walk through the door to find out what was wrong.

I don't know how long I would have stayed there like that, but a group of flyboys saw me out flying one night and came to the house. I knew I had to leave, Mom and Ella were in danger as long as I was around. So I left and I just kept flying. I lost track of time, not really caring anymore. Days merged into weeks and weeks into months. Finally I snapped out of it. I don't know how it happened but I stopped moping. There were no more tears to cry. Grief turned into rage and a need for revenge. I knew I'd never take on Itex in the state I was in so I started planning. I bought a house on the outskirts of some town. I mail-ordered gym equipment, clothes and food and set up a security system around the house. I spent my days working out and when I wasn't doing that I was researching. I learned how to hack into Itex's files with a pang of regret when I thought of Nudge. I couldn't get into all the files, but I found the ones with the list of Schools and their blueprints. That was all I needed.

I planned my routes and attack strategy, getting fitter and stronger every day. At night I went flying, pushing my speed limit until I could reach almost 300mph. Then when I was ready, I started hunting my family's killers.

The first school never stood a chance. The idiots had built a self destruct button, and all I had to do was push it. I was in and out before they even realised their security was breached. I felt cold satisfaction in my stomach as I watched the building explode.

As I destroyed the other schools with a mixture of bombs and fire I gained quite a few injuries. I broke four ribs, my wrist twice, my wing once and had innumerable cuts and bruises. But I barely even noticed them in my quest for revenge.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum ride blah blah blah

Now, 3 years later (so I figured) from the day my life was ripped apart, my family wouldn't have recognised the person I had become.

I'd cut my hair to my shoulders, shorter than it had ever been in my life. I was taller, my wing span was longer. I could easily kill a man with a single kick (I know this for a fact) and I felt nothing when his neck snapped. I hadn't looked in a mirror in a long time, but I was sure that my eyes were cold and murderous, judging from the way those pathetic whitecoats had stared at me like I was the angel of death before they ran away.

When I'd bought my house, along with the gym equipment I'd bulk ordered my clothes. Black combat pants, black t-shirts, black jackets and black trainers. The perfect take- down- the- giant- evil –company- outfit. When one set gets ruined, I just throw it away and put on another. There's only room for one thing in my mind. I knew it wasn't healthy, to be so focused on killing and destroying, but I couldn't help it. The only people who could have stopped me were dead.

I was headed for one of the larger schools. The blue prints reminded me of that castle back in Germany. A huge courtyard dominated the centre and there were thousands of maze- like corridors. There seemed to be hundreds of small identical rooms but I didn't know what they were for. From what I'd read, this School was merely a research lab, no experiments were kept there, just the White coats and their stupid test tubes.

I studied the blue prints at my little camp again and again until I had them memorised. Then I set to work assembling the bombs. I needed more than usual this time, it was a big place. All those years watching Iggy and Gazzy cannibalise my alarm clocks were finally being put to good use.

I knew this School would be harder than the others. I wouldn't do much damage just by dropping the bombs; the roof was made with reinforced steel. (Why they didn't build all the Schools the same I have no idea) I needed to plant them in key areas, and like I said, it was a big building. That meant I needed to be inside for a while longer, and the longer I was in there, the more chance there was for me to get caught. And while I really didn't care if I lived or died at the moment, I had bigger fish to fry, and to do that I needed to stay alive a little while longer.

When I finally thought I was ready, I stuffed everything back into my black army-grade backpack and jumped into the sky, flinging my wings out to catch the upward draft. For a few seconds I revelled in the feeling of freedom, of sailing on the winds without a care in the world, but then, as always, reality came crashing back down. I gritted my teeth and with a burst of super-speed I was at the School within 10 minutes.

I hovered in the air for a few seconds just taking in the view. Wow, it really was huge. The blue prints didn't do it justice.

I swooped down, dropping to the ground and folding my wings in. I couldn't just fly over and drop inside the walls. By now, they would all know I was going around and blowing up the Schools. They'd be watching the sky for me. So instead I was going to do what no one expected a bird-kid bent of destruction to do; use the front door.

There were two guards at the reception. Why did this place need a reception? I have no clue, but at that moment in time, I was glad they did.

"Excuse me Miss, this is a private facility. I'm going to have to ask you to leave." One of the guards stepped into my path. He was wearing a dark blue uniform with the Itex logo printed on the breast. My eyes flickered to the gun at his waist, too fast for him to notice. If I had to, I could take these guys. But hopefully I wouldn't have to.

I smiled sweetly, resisting the urge to just punch him in the face, and pulled out an ID badge from my pocket. After 3 years of near-stalking Itex and it's employees, it hadn't been hard to make a fake ID card. According to the badge I was Dr Jennifer Austin, one of the directors personal assistants and had level 5 clearance, the highest you could get. The badge had a chip in it that verified my identity in their systems, and only the director herself would know that I wasn't who I said I was. It had taken a while and a lot of hard work to integrate myself into their personnel files and I'd had to build firewalls around the files so stop anyone tampering with them and finding out the truth.

The guard handed me the badge back after he had scanned it. "Sorry, Dr Austin. Didn't realise who you were." He apologised "What can we do for you?"

"I'm just making my usual inspection rounds on behalf of the director." I told him. "It's just a routine thing." I assured him "But I'm glad that you stopped me, it's good to know we have thorough security men in place. We can't have just anyone walking in now can we?" I turned on the charm, flattery worked every time. "But do me a favour would you? Don't tell anyone I'm here. Everything has to run as normal." I smiled again. I couldn't have word getting to someone who knew that there was no Dr Jennifer Austin.

"Of course Dr Austin. Would you like me to show you around?"

"No, that won't be necessary. I know my way. Keep up the good work." I winked at him as I passed him.

Inside I was laughing. Itex was no match for the great Maximum Ride.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: i do not own Maximum ride

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It was time to get to work.

I walked quickly and confidently towards my first target. No one stopped me with my ID badge pinned to my jacket. Some people even gave me a nod or a smile, which I returned. It was all part of the act. Inside I was containing the urge to kill these sick people.

I didn't have to worry about rescuing the other experiments this time. There were none. It had caused a few problems in a couple of other Schools. That was how I had gotten most of my injuries.

Once I'd positioned the first bomb in a supply closet, I set the timer. 20 minutes would give me enough time to set the rest of the bombs and get clear.

I turned around and came face to face with 5 teenagers. What the hell were they doing here? Had Itex recruited kids as Whitecoats now?

"Hi kids. What can I do for you?" I asked, playing my part again.

"Why do you have a bomb?" One of them asked. She was a girl with long dark hair, just a little shorter that me. They were all dressed in white jump suits. If I had to guess I would say they were about 16.

"Um." Words failed me as I stared at them, completely thrown. "Its not a bomb." I tried

"Disarm it." The girl commanded. I opened my mouth to say no, but apparently she wasn't talking to me. The blonde boy on her right quickly sidestepped around me, faster than I could blink and snatched the bomb from where I'd placed it. I tried to stop him, but four sets of hands suddenly grabbed my arms and legs. They were strong. Too strong. And that was when I noticed the wings. They were experiments. I was now confused. There weren't supposed to be any experiments here, and what were they doing roaming the halls?

"Listen, you're making a mistake, I can get you guys out of here." I tried to explain. The girl looked a me curiously.

"Why would we want to leave?" She asked. I stared at her in shock. What was wrong with her?

She raised her wristwatch up to her mouth "This is Unit 5 requesting back up in corridor 45. Unit 1 please respond." She said and I swore. There was no way I was going down without a fight. I didn't really like to make a habit of hurting fellow experiments, but I guess I was going to have to make an exception.

I flung my arms back, digging my elbows into the stomachs of the two kids holding my arms, and throwing them against the wall. I heard them crash into it with a satisfying thud. The two kids slid to the ground and for an instant I was paralysed as I suddenly saw Angel and Gazzy lying in the rubble. The dark haired girl threw a punch in my direction, the motion snapping me out of my flashback. I leant back slightly dodging her fist and spun around, catching her with my foot and kicking her into another wall. I grabbed the 3rd boy's wrist as he tried to punch me too and pulled his arm down hard flipping him over and letting him fall to the floor, landing on his back. A sharp pressure on the back of my leg caused me to fall to floor on one knee and I had to roll to the side quickly to avoid a foot on my throat. I heard footsteps running towards us and I jumped to my feet expecting more experiments. My heart literally skipped a beat. Standing in front of me was the flock. They were 3 years older but it was them, no doubt about it. And they were wearing those stupid jumpsuits.

"Alright lady, who are you and what do you want?" Gazzy demanded. I swallowed. They didn't recognise me.

Angel's eyes narrowed and she put a hand on her brother's arm, holding him back. "It's Max." She said. Gazzy looked at me again, recognition sparking in his eyes. Iggy was staring in Angel's direction, and Nudge was staring at me.

"You're alive." I breathed. I couldn't believe my eyes. But the voice had said… "You lied!" I screamed "You told me they were dead!"

_Max _ the voice cut in sharply _Listen to me!_ It commanded _They're not your flock. They've been brainwashed. They work for Itex now. You can't trust them!_

I wasn't particularly inclined to believe a word it said right then. "Let's go guys. It's time we trashed this joint." I made to pass them, automatically assuming my role as leader once again, so I was startled by the confused looks they gave me. Just like the others.

"Is that a bomb Max?" Gazzy asked, peering behind me.

"We can't have you blowing up the lab Max." Iggy said, taking a step towards me.

_See Max_ The voice said and I backed up slowly. I couldn't fight them. Not them. Not after everything that had happened. I had to save them.

"Come with us Max." Nudge said. I shook my head.

"You have to come with us Max. There's someone you need to meet." Iggy said, taking another step.

"No." I said, still shaking my head. I glanced at Angel, she was staring intently at me. I shoved mind blocks up right before her mind crashed into mine.

"Angel stop." I said between gritted teeth, fighting her in my mind. But she just furrowed her brow and concentrated harder.

Iggy reached for my hand with amazing accuracy. I slapped it away. "Don't make us hurt you Max." He warned.

I was surrounded, my flock mixed with the other kids, only Angel wasn't standing in the circle that surrounded me.

"Don't touch me." I growled. Gazzy leapt for me, trying to catch my hands but I stepped to the side and kicked him into the wall, wincing as he hit it. But I didn't have time to say sorry as Iggy tripped me up sending my flying to the ground. Hastily I flipped myself upright just in time to catch a punch from the dark haired girl and block a roundhouse kick from one of the blonde boys, only to feel Nudge's fist crash into my jaw making my bite my tongue as my head was knocked to the side. I wiped the blood from my mouth, trying to ignore the pain. Everyone attacked me at once and I had to move like lightning just to block their attacks. And all the while I was still battling Angel for control of my mind.

Amidst all of this I somehow managed to hear another set of footsteps walking towards us.

"Mercury, what is so important that you called us?" A deep voice said as the person rounded the corner.

I froze. I knew that voice.

Everyone leapt at me and I was tackled to the ground. Pain exploded in my right knee and my head. I felt my arms wrench behind my back roughly and something tied around my wrists. My wings were being crushed by my own arms. I was dragged up right and came face to face with Fang.

He looked me up and down and I saw his eyebrow twitch in shock when his deep chocolate eyes met mine. I doubted anyone else had noticed it. I had been the only one who could read Fang's expressions.

"Fang?" He was taller than me and his hair was shorter that it had been the last time I had seen him, but a lock of it still flopped down and fell into his eyes. Apart from that small twitch he was completely emotionless. Please don't let him be brainwashed, please don't let him be brainwashed I begged.

"Well well, what do we have here? The great Maximum Ride." His voice was cocky as he took a step towards me.

"She was planting bombs sir." The dark haired girl, Mercury, said. Sir? Since when was Fang a sir?

His eyes narrowed. What had happened to them? I started to fight Iggy's grip on me furiously, desperate to get free, but he held me tight. I stamped hard on his foot and he let go in surprise. For an instant I was free, but I lost my balance, not expecting Iggy to let go so quickly and I fell forwards, right into Fang's arms. Great. Now I'd never get free.

"Let me go!" I screamed at him, trying to headbutt him, but I failed and he spun me around, so he could hold my wrists.

"Stop struggling Max, it's for your own good." He told me and then proceeded to march me down the corridor. Defeated I sagged in his grip and let him hold me up. I was caught. Betrayed by my flock.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: i do not own Maximum ride

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We'd been walking for only 5 minutes when I felt warm breath tickle my cheek. "When I tell you to run, run." Fang whispered in my ear. I was stunned. He hadn't been turned after all. I fought the urge to grin and remembering Angel I shot up mind blocks and started to focus on one thing and one thing only; my mom's cookies. I could feel Angel testing the barriers, but she would have a hard time breaking them. She wasn't going to get anything from me, and if I knew Fang, which fortunately I did, she wouldn't get anything from him either.

I felt Fang's hands moving around my wrists, the rope around the loosening as he untied it. I was careful to keep my arms in the same position, even though my shoulder muscles were screaming in protest. If any of the others saw my arms move they'd get suspicious.

The second the rope fell from my wrists, Fang shouted "Run." So I ran. But I was running blindly. Behind me I heard several crashes, Fang I assumed was giving me a head start. Nudge's voice suddenly echoed all around "All units to corridor 23." Things were about to get messy.

The corridor ended in a T and I turned left, but Fang appeared from no where and grabbed my hand, pulling me right and nearly wrenching my arm out of my shoulder. We ran hand in hand down the white washed corridors, Fang pulling me around corners, making left and right turns. Behind us the rest of the flock and the other experiments were following on our heels. More kids in white jumpsuits had joined them. I briefly wondered how many experiments there were in this place. Fang ran faster, pulling me along behind him, our feet thundering along the floor. It looked like Itex had built their own little army.

Suddenly Fang pulled my out of the corridor and into a room. He yanked me to the ground and I nearly landed on top of him. His hand went over my mouth to stop me making any noise as we sat flat against the wall. I heard what sounded like a heard of elephants pass us. Only when the footsteps and shouts had faded did Fang release me. I looked around the room. It looked like an operating theatre with a steel table in the middle and various tables with scary looking instruments on them. I shivered involuntarily as my gaze passed over the straps on the operating table, remembering the horrific done on us back at the School.

"Just like old times huh?" I tried to joke still staring around the room

"Yeah, 'cept back then I wouldn't have had to kick Iggy's butt." Fang's voice held no humour. I turned to find him pulling off his jump suit.

"Fang what are you doing?" I hissed. We were running for our lives and he wanted to change his clothes?

He gave me that look that always made me feel stupid and I felt the colour rise in my cheeks.

"The suit has a tracking device in it." He told me "And besides, you know I hate white, and I've been wearing that for 3 years." He grinned at me making my heart speed up no matter how irrational I knew it was. Sure enough under the white jump suit he was wearing a black T-shirt and black pants. Now we matched.

My emotions taking hold of me I launched myself at him and threw my arms around his neck hugging him. "I missed you so much." I said into his chest.

I felt his arms curl around my back, hugging me tight against him "I missed you too Max."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: As always I still don't own anything. **

**Alrighty I know its been AGES, but heres another chapter....**

The sound of running footsteps passing in the corridor on the other side of the doors ripped me out of Fang's arms. I mentally cursed myself for letting my guard drop like that. I instinctively looked around for somewhere to hide; we were cornered like rabbits in here, but Fang grabbed my wrist tightly and pulled me to one side of the door, holding me against him like my life depended on it.

Turns out my life did depend on it. The doors swung open and Nudge and Gazzy walked in. I held my breath as they looked around the room. Gazzy's eyes passed over where we were standing and it was only then that I realized we were invisible.

"There's no one in here." Nudge said, turning to walk out of the room, but Gazzy stopped her. "Look." He said, pointing under the table. Peeking out from underneath the sheet covering it was Fang's jumpsuit. Both of them whirled scanning the room for us, but we were already gone, the doors swinging in our wake.

I heard them shouting behind us, as Fang pulled me through the white washed corridors. He was going to pull my arm out of my shoulder if he wasn't careful. The alarms were shrieking by now, red lights flickering on the walls. Guess I caused a bit of a situation. Perfect. My watch beeped. I froze.

"Oh crap."

Fang skidded to a halt when he realized I was no longer behind him. "What?" He asked, looking anxiously around.

"The bombs. They go off in two minutes. And I dumped them right next to one of the boilers." I winced. The place was about to go up in a great big fireball.

"We need to keep moving." Fang reminded me, pulling me once again.

"We need to find a stairwell." I said as we ran. If we could find one, we might just escape.

"Max, I don't think-" Fang started but I cut him off

"Unless you've suddenly become fireproof, I suggest we find a stairwell. We can go straight up. It's the quickest way out." I snapped.

"What about the flock?" He asked, looking back at me strangely. I knew what he was looking at, he spotted the difference in me, my eyes.

"We have to leave them." I said, slowing down and meeting his gaze as I did. I knew what he was thinking; the old Max would never have said that. The old Max would have died rather than leave the rest of the flock behind, brainwashed or not. Well tough. I gritted my teeth together. Three years alone in the world hardens you. "They'd kill us if they saw us." I reminded him. "We need to go. Now."

Fang studied me for a second longer before nodding. He ran past me, and I hastily followed. My watch beeped again. One minute.

Suddenly I heard shouts behind us once more. Turning I saw what must have been thirty or so kids in their white jumpsuits, all running towards us. I ran faster. I don't know how many turns we made, who put the stupid stairs so far away from anywhere?

A metal bar suddenly flew into my path and would have hit me if I hadn't ducked. "What the hell?" I looked behind me again. Nudge was leading the pack of children, a vicious look in her eyes. I looked away, she wasn't my Nudge anymore.

"Max, up ahead." Fang yelled. Sure enough, I could see a flight of stairs about 8 meters in front of us. Just as we reached it, my watch beeped again, and something exploded somewhere back in the direction we have come from.

"Go! GO!" I shouted at Fang, jumping straight up and whipping my wings out. I shot straight up the stairwell, almost going supersonic. I just hoped that Fang was right behind me. I could feel the heat from fire down below us as we raced it up the stairwell, hear the continuous explosions as my one triggered others throughout the building in the heating systems. The roof was coming closer faster and faster. It was solid, no skylight to be seen like I'd hoped. This was going to hurt. I tucked my head down and braced my shoulders as they smashed into the roof. Pain exploded through my body as I felt the roof break over me. I shot into the sky, but soon started to fall, not able to move my shoulders. I was going to fall right back into the swirling mass of chaos below me. A hand gripped mine, clasping me tightly, pulling me upwards.

"That." Fang said. "Was really stupid."

**Thanks for reading guys, hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon xx**


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum ride

CHAPTER 6

"Ow!" I complained as Fang rotated my shoulder to see if I'd broken anything.

"Amazingly, I don't think you broke it." He said, finally leaving my throbbing limbs alone and taking a seat opposite me. I shrugged my shoulder back into place and glared at Fang. I knew I hadn't broken it, but him pulling it made it hurt more. I tested my wings, gently stretching them out to full length. My shoulder twinged as I did, but thankfully I hadn't injured them, although I had lost a few feathers I noticed as I inspected them for damage. As I looked away from my wings I caught Fang staring at me.

"What?" I asked, suddenly self conscious. That particular emotion took me by surprise. I hadn't felt self-concious in a long time. In fact, I hadn't felt self-conscious since I had last seen Fang.

"You look different." Was all he said, but he continued to stare at me. Trying to ignore the feeling of his eyes on me, I stood up and shook out my wings properly. I'd spent long enough sitting around. Time to get on with things. Just because I was reunited with Fang didn't mean I was going to abandon my mission. They still had the rest of my family. They may not have killed them but they had done the next best thing and I wasn't going to let them get away with it.

I rolled my shoulder again. It hurt, but I'd dealt with worse pain. It was only a message after all. I gauged the length of the clearing where we had landed (well where Fang had landed) and decided there was enough space for a running start. I backed up a few steps then took a deep breath. If my shoulder didn't hold, I'd hit the ground. Hard. Oh well.

"Max, what are you doing?" Fang asked in a low voice. Even after three years I knew what that tone meant. It meant 'you better not be doing what I think you're doing'. I didn't look at him. If I did I might cave. I couldn't let him distract me.

"I need to see what happened to the lab." I judged the distance to the tree across from me. I should have enough room to clear the trees. Maybe. As I took a step, a sharp pain through my shoulder stopped me dead. Fang had twisted my injured arm.

Rage exploded through me. How dare he? "Get off me!" I shouted at him, yanking my arm from his grip and sending a kick towards him. He wasn't expecting me to attack him and my foot caught him square in the gut sending him flying backwards, sliding across the ground. For a second I couldn't believe I had done that, and neither could Fang from the look he was giving me from the floor. But then the resolve that had settled into my hollow bones that fateful day three years ago flooded me and I took a step back and met his incredulous gaze with one of steel.

"I thought you all died three years ago. I thought you were gone forever." I said "They have the rest of my family, and I'm going to get them back if I can, but if I can't, Itex will pay for what they have done to them. What they did to us. You can't stop me Fang. Come with me, or stay here if you want. I survived three years by myself and have taken down five schools already. I don't need you to take down the rest. And I certainly don't need you to stop me."

What I didn't say was I didn't need him to distract me. It would be so easy just to stay there with him. To tell him everything I felt and run away with him. But I couldn't. So turned away from him and ran. Ten steps and I jumped. My wings caught the up draft and lifted me higher. I soared above the trees, high enough that Fang wouldn't see the tear that rolled down my cheek. _You look different. _ Fang's words echoed through my head. What had I become? I clenched my fists, dashing away the tears. I had become what I had needed to become, what I'd had to become.

* * *

The lab was unrecognizable. The bombs next to the gas tanks had really done their job. The place was literally blown to smithereens. I was stood on the hill just beyond the lab, surveying the damage. There wasn't a wall left standing in sight. I felt a familiar sense of satisfaction. One more piece of Itex had fallen prey to the great Maximum Ride. By now I hoped my name sent the fear of God into those people.

Someone hit the ground running behind me, and I spun fast, dropping into a fighting stance. It was Fang. I found myself smiling. He'd followed me, even after I had said all that stuff. My smile faded though when he didn't even look at me. Instead he walked to where I was standing and stared at the wreck below us.

I don't know how long we stood there in silence but eventually Fang spoke. "We need to know." Was all he said. Guess he still hadn't learned to talk that much. I knew what he meant though. I'd been trying not to think about it, but he was right. We needed to look at the bodies. We had to know if any of them were the flock. Immediately the images that had haunted me for three years jumped unbidden into my mind.

My face must have shown something, because Fang gently squeezed my hand, pulling me back to the scene in front of us. I'd been partly wrong before. I did need him. I needed him to do this. I couldn't have done it by myself. They may no longer be MY flock, but they were still my family. And I'd already lost them once.

I let him pull me down the hill, while I tried to push the images in my mind away. I prayed to whatever God there might be to let us not find them. We stepped into the rubble and for the first time in three years I really understood what I had done. Hours ago I had stood in the reception room, had talked to the receptionist and the security man. Now the room was unrecognizable. Just pieces of rock and wood scattered all around. There was a black heeled shoe caught between two rocks. I looked away.

Fang and I split up, knowing we would cover more ground that way. I picked my way through the rubble and pipes, searching for a sign of a white jump suit. Ten minutes later I stopped dead in my tracks. There was a small arm and leg, clad in white sticking out from under large slab of wall. I could also see bright blonde hair. My heart leapt. Please no, not Angel.

"Fang!" I screamed. I couldn't bring myself to move any closer. The hard exterior that had protected me all this time just seemed to melt away and the old Max was back. He was at my side in an instant. I felt him tense beside me when he saw what I had seen. But unlike me he wasn't paralyzed and he stepped forwards and struggled to lift the slab. I couldn't look, but I had to know.

"It's not her." Fang's voice cut through my paralysis and I crumpled to the floor. I had done this. I might have killed them all. Itex hadn't, but I might have. Arms wrapped around me, holding me tight, and I just sat there and cried into Fang's shoulder.


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry its been so long guys, been real busy with uni stuff, but have managed a couple of chapters, so hope you like them :) Also a massive thank you to all my reviewers :) x

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Disclaimer : I do not own Maximum Ride

CHAPTER 7

The sun was setting below the horizon in a blaze of deep orange and red. For miles and miles the sky was a dazzling shade of deep burnt auburn as the last remaining sunbeams shot through the low lying clouds before finally disappearing. I sat there, hugging my knees to my chest as I watched that giant fireball that gives life to our planet slowly disappear from view, replaced by the shadows that heralded the night.

It was odd, but I had never really thought about the sun before. I mean, I knew it was there, who didn't? It would be kind of hard not to notice it, unless you were blind of course. My thoughts immediately turned Iggy, but I shoved them aside. I didn't want to think of the others right now.

I thought it was kind of strange how all life on earth, every single blade of grass, was dependant on the sun rising and falling each day. How nearly everything that happened rotated around a giant ball of gas millions of miles away, but if that thing in the sky, which kept life so carefully in balance should come any closer, we'd all be burnt to a crisp. The whole place would just go up in flames and that would be the end of us. It was such power for such an insubstantial object (could you even call the sun an object?) to have.

I was in a strange mood, and inclined to indulge my morbid thoughts a while longer, but Fang gently touched my shoulder and handed me a sandwich. I didn't know where he'd got it. I didn't really care.

We never found their bodies. We'd looked all day but all we found were plenty of white coats and a few more mutant children. And I'd killed them all. I returned to staring at the last remaining dregs of the sunshine, and absent mindedly chewed my sandwich. Maybe it would have been better if the sun had crashed into the earth.

For the past three years I had been so focused on destroying Itex, it had been who I was, it had defined me. But kneeling there in the midst of the destruction and death I had caused earlier, I had lost my conviction that what I was doing was right. I still had no doubt Itex were evil and had to be stopped, I was still Max Ride after all, but I wasn't no longer sure that I was going about it the right way. Maybe I had become just as bad as they were. With every lab I had destroyed, I had given no thought to the people I had killed, to the families I had broken. And now I had, I felt like a monster.

The sun had set by now, and the darkness was descending on us. I heard the scraping of sticks against each other behind me and turned around to find Fang starting a small fire with a pile of sticks he'd found from the woods. Guess we were camping here tonight then.

I watched Fang for a few minutes, something I hadn't done in a while. A long while. He hadn't changed much; his dark hair was still too long and fell in front of his eyes when he looked down, he still looked up at every crack of a twig, his eyes were still deep dark pools that I could easily get lost in.

But he'd changed as well, maybe not as much as me, but his jaw was set harder than I'd ever seen it. There were new scars along his arms and one running down the back of his neck, disappearing under his shirt.

For the first time I wondered what had actually happened to the Flock while Itex had them. Had they been brainwashed straight away or had they been experimented on and tortured again first? As I watched Fang staring intently at the flames dancing before him I realized that I had been completely and utterly selfish. Not once in those three years did I spare a thought for what the others were going through, (alright so I didn't actually know they were alive, but all this time I've been sitting here counts) I was so focused on revenge I didn't actually think of them.

And how had Fang escaped being brainwashed?

As if sensing my thoughts were on him, Fang looked up and met my eyes across the fire. He'd given me my space since my breakdown earlier, leaving me alone with my thoughts to deal with everything. But I knew he was always there should I need him. No one knew me better than him. I held his gaze across the flames, the shadows dancing in his eyes. He was all I had. But he was what I needed. He was the one that pulled me back down to the ground when I flew too close to the sun. He was the one who held me when I, the fearless leader, got scared. He was the only person in the world I completely trusted. I didn't know how I'd lived the last three years without him by my side.

Slowly I unfolded my crossed legs and stood up. I made my way towards the fire and sat down next to him. His eyes followed me the whole way. I leant my head against his shoulder, drawing comfort from his warmth. I slipped my hand into his. For a second he didn't move. Then he entwined his fingers with my own and squeezed my hand gently. With his other hand he brushed the hair from my face and stroked my hair gently.

"Fang?" I asked softly

"Hmm?"

"Why weren't you brainwashed like the others?"


End file.
